Misty
by MiaMeadows
Summary: After years of being apart Ash and Misty finally see each other again but under the gravest of circumstances. Ash is nervous. Misty is gorgeous. This story took over my whole life, I hope you love reading it as much as I loved writing it.
1. First Sight

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon or Ash and Misty, they own each other.  
**

Ash was more than a little bit surprised to get a call at eleven at night. He was even more surprised to hear her voice at the other end of the line.

"Ash?"

"Misty?"

"I'm sorry to call you so late."

Ash was on the road before midnight. He left a note for anyone who might miss him and with his backpack and a very tired and grumpy Pikachu he set out to find the girl who had resided only in his dreams for years.

It had been years, of course, since he had seen Misty and he wondered what time would have done to her. She would be twenty, he figured, and he was only eighteen. A teenager. A child. He wondered how he had ever thought that someone like Misty would ever be interested in someone like him. But wasn't she the one who called him? Wasn't she the one who had instigated this reunion? Maybe he had a chance after all.

The thought made his pace quicken and he reached the next town by sunrise. There was still a long way to go, but every step was a step closer to Misty.

He walked for seven days before he reached her house. In was ten at night but there was a light shining from the very top window and he could see a silhouette behind the curtains. That silhouette was certainly not the Misty he remembered. There was no side-pigtail for starters.

He knocked on the door. He was insanely nervous. His hands were shaking. He needed to cough but he didn't want to be coughing when she first opened the door so he held it in. That made his eyes water. He tried to wipe the tears away and realised how dirty his hands were. He wasn't ready for this. He should have prepared what he was going to say. Walking for seven days and he hadn't thought of a single conversation starter. The light turned on behind the front door.

When he saw her he very nearly fainted. She was wearing a dressing gown and slippers. Her hair was past her shoulders now and dead straight. Her legs and arms were longer and her body rounder. She wasn't a little girl anymore and, worst of all, she was still taller than him.

"Misty?" he croaked, and proceeded to cough for a good minute or so.

"Thank you so much for coming Ash, I didn't know who else to call."

Then she promptly burst into tears.

Impulsively Ash hugged her. She had sounded upset on the phone but he had no idea just how bad it was.

She stopped sobbing for just long enough to say three words.

"Togepi is dead."

And Ash realised why he was there. Not for any romantic reasons. Just to be the shoulder to cry on. He would never be anything but a friend to her.

He didn't ask her what had happened, he didn't say anything, he just waited for her to invite him inside. God her hair smelt good.

Eventually she stopped crying and let him in the house. Once they were sitting in the living room and Misty was drinking a tea and Ash a hot chocolate she actually started to speak in full sentences.

"I'm so sorry to drag you all the way out here, I just didn't know who else to call, my family are all away and I just really needed a friend. I can't believe you walked all the way here."

"Oh, it was nothing, I'm sorry it took me a whole week to get here."

"Anyway, you can stay as long as you like, there are heaps of spare bedrooms, it will be just like old times," she said, but she didn't sound like even she believed it.

The house was filled with silence and, though there was no one else there, the conversation was a barely audible whisper. Once they had finished their drinks Misty stood up.

"I'll get you some sheets," she said, "you can have one of my sister's rooms."

She took the cups to the kitchen and washed them. Pikachu had fallen asleep on the sofa so Ash covered him in his hoodie and followed Misty up the stairs.

She let him into one of the many bedrooms along the endless hallway. It had a very pink theme and the bed was covered in soft toys. They made the bed together and Misty turned before she left the room.

"I'm just next door if you need anything," she said, "the bathroom is down the hall, good night Ash."

"Good night Misty," he said to her back as she walked out of the room, "see you in the morning."

He understood perfectly how upset she must be, he couldn't imagine losing Pikachu, but Togepi was like her own child, she had been carrying that thing around for years. He wondered what possibly could have happened.

He couldn't sleep. The room smelt like perfume and his pillow was far too fluffy. He was tossing and turning for an hour before he heard it. He could hardly make out the muffled sobs and he figured she had her face under the pillow but there was no mistake, she was crying again.

He had a silent war with himself about whether or not he should go to her, on one hand that was why she had asked him here in the first place, to comfort her, on the other hand she might not want him to come into her bedroom in the middle of the night, could be a bit weird. Eventually his conscience got the better of him and he slipped out of bed. He was wearing only his track pants and he was instantly freezing.

When he reached her doorway it was already partially open.

"Misty?" he whispered. She didn't respond, "Misty, are you ok?"

"Ash?"

"I couldn't help overhearing, can I get you anything?"

She didn't reply for a long time and Ash wondered if maybe she had fallen asleep. So he was beyond shocked when she came to the door. In the moonlight he could just make out that she was in striped pyjamas and her hair was all over the place which made her look more like the Misty he remembered.

"Could you come in for a minute?" she asked, "just until I fall asleep? I get so lonely at night without Togepi here."


	2. First Night

He didn't answer he just followed her into the room and climbed into bed next to her. Even though the bed was quite large and they were able to lie comfortably without touching each other he still couldn't breathe. Even so, the bed was warm and comforting and somehow he felt truly safe for the first time in years.

Ash watched as Misty's eyes slowly closed and once he was certain she was sleeping he turned his back on her and was asleep in seconds.

When he awoke in the morning it was early. In the night he must have rolled over because his face was only inches from Misty's. She was still asleep and her hair had fallen over her face. Absentmindedly he brushed it aside. She was so beautiful it hurt.

He decided it was less creepy if he looked around the room instead of staring at Misty all morning, which would be particularly awkward if she woke up. The decor wasn't pink and fluffy like her sister's room. The walls were plastered with posters of water Pokémon, the shelves covered in trophies from tournaments and on her bedside table there was a picture frame. The photo was of him, Misty and Brock; Pikachu, Vulpix and Togepi were there too. He wondered if that picture had been there for years or if she had merely got it out again because he was coming to visit. Either way it made him smile.

He got up before Misty woke and crept back to his own room. He then had a shower because he realised he didn't smell too crash hot. When he finally got down to the kitchen, after using what he could only assume was Misty's strawberry shampoo, he found her sitting, still in her pyjamas, at the bench making bowls of cereal.

"Hey," she said, "sorry about last night, do you want some breakfast?"

"Yeah, love some, and don't worry about it, that's what I'm here for right?"

"Well I assure you it won't happen again."

Damn.

"So what's the plan for today?" he said, changing the subject.

"Well, we can go into town if you like, but there's not much to see, or I can show you how I've been going with my water Pokémon training."

"Sounds great," he said, shovelling one huge spoonful after another of cereal into his mouth.

"Ok, well I'll just have a shower and get ready and I'll meet you back down here in like fifteen minutes?"

He scoffed. Fifteen minutes? No girl, not even Misty, could get ready in fifteen minutes.

So he roused Pikachu and had another two bowls of cereal while he was waiting.

Twenty minutes later she emerged, he had to admit she was still a lot quicker than he had imagined. And she certainly looked a lot prettier than anyone could ever imagine, ever.

He was happy to see that her fashion sense hadn't changed all that much, she was wearing a green singlet with a pair of denim dungarees over the top, red galoshes and a cap from her Gym.

Ash wondered whether maybe he should have brought more than one change of clothes.

"Ready to go?" she asked.

"You bet."

So she led him out the back door and they crossed the backyard to her training centre. It was full of swimming pools and the swimming pools were full of water Pokémon. She had certainly been busy.

Once they had finished the tour they headed back to the house. Ash was significantly impressed.

"You know what we should do?" said Misty.

"What?"

"Have a picnic, I'll pack some sandwiches and we can walk down to the river."

"Sounds great."

So Misty searched through the hall cupboards until she found the picnic basket and the picnic blanket, they made some sandwiches, one for Misty and three for Ash, and they started out for the river.

It was a good half hour walk and there was plenty of space to fill with conversation and Ash was finding more and more that every single thing Misty said was absolutely fascinating. He still hadn't asked the one question that had been bothering him since he had arrived. Probably better to wait. Instead they reminisced about old times and talked about Brock and whether or not he had been forced into a shotgun wedding yet.

"So, what are you up to anyway Ash? Any tournaments on at the moment?"

"Not really, I've just been working, trying to save up enough to move out."

"Oh I know right? Me too."

They reached the river, kicked their shoes and socks off and spread out the picnic blanket. They sat opposite each other and once Misty had finished her sandwich she lay back on the blanket with her arm over her eyes. Ash was still eating.

"You know what Ash?" she said.

"What?"

"I have really missed this."

"What?"

"Just hanging out with you, you know?"

"Yeah I know, I have too."

"It's been way too long."

Ash was silent, this was a perfect opportunity to say something, something he had been dying to say for years. But instead he picked up is last sandwich.

"Let's not wait another six years for the next time," he said.

"Deal," she said, and sat up, "want to go for a swim?"

"I didn't bring my swimmers."

"That's ok neither did I," she said standing up and taking off her cap, "It never stopped us in the past."

She unbuttoned her dungarees and slipped them off and then pulled the singlet off over her head. She left her underwear on and ran to the water's edge.

"Come on Ash!" she yelled as she dived in to the water. Ash was still sitting frozen on the picnic blanket with his mouth wide open and his face the same colour as Misty's galoshes.

"Umm, be right there," he managed to say as he pondered over just how many things he should remove. He took off his cap and his t-shirt but somehow he couldn't bring himself to take of his yellow shorts. So he left them on and walked to the river bank.

"Is it cold?" he asked.

"No it's lovely, just jump in."

So he did. The water was kind of like ice, only liquid and colder.

"Jesus! It's freezing!"

Misty laughed so hard she almost drowned.

"Oh man, you are going down" he said and he headed straight for her.


	3. First Plan

Within seconds they were tackling each other in the water like they were thirteen years old again. Misty was squealing and Ash was making warrior noises. It was perfect.

Eventually they stopped, breathless and giggling.

"Hey Misty," said Ash.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think you could take a few days off work?"

"Maybe," she said, "why?"

"I was just thinking, we should go for an adventure."

"What?"

"Yeah, like, we should go camping for a few days, then it will really be like old times."

"Where would we go?"

"I don't know, anywhere."

"That sounds awesome."

"Let's do it then."

"Ok, I'll see what I can do," she said as she swam to the edge of the river, "come on, we'll freeze if we stay in any longer."

They lay on the grass in the sun trying to dry off. It didn't work too well.

"I'm still freezing are you?" Misty asked.

"Yep," said Ash through chattering teeth.

"Let's get back to the house before we catch pneumonia," she said gathering up the picnic things and pulling her dungarees back on, "race you?"

"I don't know," said Ash, "I haven't, ready set go!"

And he was off with the picnic basket in one hand and his t-shirt in the other. Misty was close behind, wearing the picnic blanket as a cape and carrying her singlet and galoshes.

Misty won, but only just, they both collapsed on the front porch panting. When they had got their breath back they went inside, wrapped up in dry dressing gowns and had another tea and hot chocolate sitting on the floor in front of the fireplace. Misty had hung their wet clothes over the grate.

"What's the plan for dinner?" said Ash, always hungry.

"Well, I can cook something if you like, we've got plenty of stuff in the pantry to use."

"Sweet," he said, "let me know when it's ready yeah?"

"Oh no no no, you're going to help me mister."

"What?"

"Come on, into the kitchen."

He followed her reluctantly, kitchens weren't really his thing, an outdoor fire and some sausages were his real forte. But Misty gave him all the easiest jobs, like opening jars and reaching high things, he hoped she wasn't going out of her way to try and make him feel more masculine. After losing the race he was feeling a little inadequate.

While he was busy stirring he noticed that Misty was sniffing and suddenly worried he went over to her and put his hand on her shoulder.

"You ok Misty?" he said as he saw the tears in her eyes.

"Ha yeah I'm fine, it's just the onions," she said showing him the chopping board where she had been slicing the onions.

"Oh, my bad."

When they had finished the kitchen was a mess but the food tasted pretty amazing. They ate it sitting on the porch with their feet dangling over the edge.

"You know what, you're right, we should go camping. I really need to get out of this house. I'm sure they can survive without me at the gym for a couple of days."

"Really?"

"Yeah, let's do it."

So they spent the rest of the night making plans and cleaning the kitchen so that by ten thirty they had a pile of camping gear on the floor of the living room including two sleeping bags, a tent (they could only find one), a frying pan, a box of matches and two rugged old backpacks and a spotless kitchen.

"I will talk to the guys down at the gym tomorrow, I'm sure they won't mind," said Misty.

"Great, well, I guess I better get to bed then," Ash said yawning, "I'm exhausted."

"Yeah me too."

They climbed the stairs together and stopped outside Ash's pink bedroom.

"Good night Misty," he said, "see you in the morning."

"Good night Ash," she said, "sweet dreams."

Half an hour later he was out of his bed again and standing outside Misty's door. She had closed it this time and he wondered if maybe he shouldn't disturb her again. But he knocked and she opened it almost instantly. She didn't say anything she just climbed back into bed and he followed her. His presence didn't stop the tears this time and he hugged her shuddering body until she finally fell asleep.

When he awoke in the morning it was late, Misty was gone and the sun was already shining through the window.

He got up, showered, dressed and headed downstairs but Misty wasn't there. She had left him a note stuck to the fridge with a Pikachu magnet.

_Gone down to the gym, back soon, _

_Misty_

_P.s there are scrambled eggs on the stove._

He lifted the lid off the pan and saw a load of eggs big enough for Misty's whole family, short of that, they would certainly sustain Ash. After breakfast he decided to explore the house. There wasn't anything all that interesting to see. Until he came back to Misty's room. He felt weird about going in there when she wasn't home but he did anyway. He studied her trophies and her posters and looked through the books on her shelf. It was during his literary investigations that he found it. A photo frame hidden behind the books, it was covered in dust and he assumed it hadn't been out on display for a while but it was of Misty and a guy, a tall guy. It looked as though it had been taken a couple of years ago but the jealously hit Ash like a thunderbolt from Pikachu. Of course it might just be a friend of hers, or a cousin, and even if it wasn't Misty had every right to date people. He had no hold over her, they had been childhood friends and he had let her get away without ever telling her how he felt. He shoved the frame back into the darkness and tried desperately to forget just how happy she had looked in that picture.

When Misty finally returned she looked fresh and lovely. Her hair was in a high pony-tail and she was wearing denim shorts and a baggy grey sweater

"So guess what?"

"What?"

"I've got this Friday and next Monday off work, that gives us four whole days."

"So, we're going camping?"

"We're going camping."


	4. First Confession

There were still four days before Friday and Misty was flat out working every single one of them. She took Ash along as well and he proved to be pretty helpful in the pool.

Every night Misty would go to bed and Ash would wait a few minutes before tiptoeing into her room and sliding in beside her. She didn't cry as much as she had the first two nights so he knew that his presence was comforting. Every morning whoever woke first would quickly leave the room to avoid any awkward still-in-bed-together-in-the-morning conversations and they didn't really talk to each other until they were both showered, dressed and eating breakfast.

Finally Saturday arrived and they filled their backpacks with food and camping gear and set out on their adventure.

They decided to follow the river and see where they ended up and that way they would always have fresh water and somewhere to bathe.

They walked for hours on the first day telling each other about the battles they had won and the Pokémon they had trained.

When their feet were so sore they couldn't possibly walk another step they stopped to make camp. It proved to be extremely difficult to set up the tent and after a lot of arguing and things collapsing on their heads they had it looking kind of like a proper tent. Then Ash took over the cooking and made up a fire to fry some sausages over.

By the time they had eaten dinner and washed their cooking things in the stream it was dark and cold. Misty and Ash put on their bed socks and beanies, wrapped themselves in their sleeping bags and sat by the fire.

Ash was thinking about a lot of things, like how pretty Misty looked in the firelight and how much he wished he had brought his own beanie so he didn't have to wear Misty's sister's pink one but mostly he was thinking about that question that he had been wanting to ask all week.

"Hey Misty?" he said.

"Yeah?"

"How did Togepi die?"

She didn't reply at first and he was worried he may have overstepped, he certainly hoped she wouldn't start crying again. The past two nights she had been tear-free and he didn't want to break their good run. Eventually she looked up at him and her eyes were shimmering but he hoped that was from the firelight and the smoke.

"He drowned."

Ash nodded, he hadn't thought of a follow up question.

"I got up extra early that day and Togepi was still sleeping so I left without him, I figured he would stay in the house but he must have come looking for me. I was working at the gym, I don't know how he got into the pool but by the time they found him it was too late. I shouldn't have left him behind. I should never have let him out of my sight."

There were tears streaming down her face but she wasn't sobbing or wailing, she was just crying.

"I'm sorry I asked" Ash said, "but it's not your fault Misty."

"Yes it is," she said burying her face in her arms, "it's my fault."

He didn't know what else to do so he stood up, wrapped his sleeping bag tighter around himself, sat next to Misty and put his arm around her shoulders.

He buried his face into her hair, "Misty, listen to me, this wasn't your fault, sometimes there are things that just can't be helped."

She didn't speak another word, she just stood up and went into the tent. Ash threw some more logs on the fire and followed her.

When he got inside Misty was already curled up in her sleeping bag facing the corner. Ash had a cold and uncomfortable night. He had gotten used to Misty's body warm beside his.

He must have eventually fallen asleep because he woke up stiff and aching the next morning. Misty was gone, she wasn't in her sleeping bag and when he poked his head out of the tent she wasn't anywhere in sight and she hadn't relit the fire for breakfast.

He decided he might as well wash in the river while he was waiting for her so he took off everything except his boxers (just in case, seeing as he didn't know where Misty was), and gingerly waded into the water. If he had of paid a little more attention he would have noticed the pile of Misty's clothes on the river bank.

Her gasp was pretty much a scream. His face was pretty much a tomato.

Of course the water was fairly hazy so he didn't really see anything.

"Jesus Ash you gave me a heart attack," she said.

Ash had his eyes shut so tight his face was all crinkled.

"I am so sorry."

"Just don't look while I get out yeah?"

"Yep, no problem."

He didn't open his eyes for a good fifteen minutes until he was absolutely sure Misty was fully dressed again and until he was positive she wasn't watching while he got out of the river and put his clothes back on.

Misty had already started to pack the camp up by the time he joined her again.

"There is some toast in the pan if you want it," she said as he approached cautiously. He wasn't sure just what kind of state she would be in, was she still upset after last night or was she angry at him for interrupting her bath?

"Just for the record," he said, "I didn't see anything."

"I believe you," she said, smiling, "so, ready to get going again?"

"Umm, yeah ok."

Ash was sufficiently confused.

They didn't get as far that day due to the late start and the fact that neither of them had slept much the night before.

Once the tent was up and they had finished dinner Ash offered to do the washing up. When he got back to the fire he didn't hesitate, he sat right next to Misty.

"So," he said, "truth or dare?"

"You're kidding, how old are we?"

"Come on, what else are we going to do?"

"Ok fine, dare."

"Ok, I dare you to swap beanies with me."

"Haha, ok, that's easy."

She handed over her red beanie in exchange for the hideous, fluffy pink one that Ash had been trying to ditch for two days.

"Truth or dare?" she asked.

"Dare."

"I dare you to do a cartwheel."

The game went on for an hour or so before the serious questions started to emerge when they were both too cold to get up and do anything.

"Have you ever been in love?"

"Yes," she said.

"Who with?"

"Ha, nice try but it's your turn, truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"If I hadn't of called you would you ever have contacted me again?"

"Of course."

"Then why didn't you?"

"I wanted to so many times, but I never knew what to say, I was too scared, I thought you wouldn't want to see me. But you should know, getting your phone call was the best thing that has ever happened to me."

"It was my turn to answer a question."

"Oh, right, sorry, truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"If Togepi hadn't of died would you have ever called me?"

He regretted it as soon as he said it.

"I, I don't know."

"That's not allowed."

"Ok, yes, yes I would."

"Then why didn't you?"

"It's your turn, truth or dare?"

"Dare," he said.

"Kiss me."


	5. First Time

So he did.

They were already so close to each other that he hardly had to lean forwards at all before their lips were touching. Ash kept his hands strictly by his side; he didn't trust himself to do anything else. Misty slid her hand through Ash's hair.

When they broke apart they both looked a little flushed and slightly awkward.

"I umm, it's umm, my turn to…"

He never had a chance to finish his sentence because Misty had kissed him again.

This time she didn't hold back and Ash's hands seemed to have a mind of their own. One was tangled in her hair and the other was on the small of her back.

This time they didn't break away until the last embers of the fire had died out and even then it was only a short break while they got snuggled into the tent and closed the zip.

Ash was so nervous and his heart was beating so fast that he was sure he was about to die. It wasn't until he had his fingers on the drawstring of her pyjama pants that she stopped him.

"Ash?"

"Yeah?"

"Have you done this before?"

"I umm, no, I guess I haven't"

"That's ok, we don't have to."

"No I want to."

"No we shouldn't, not tonight."

Damn.

She sat up and put her sweater back on, "I'm sorry Ash, I just don't know if this is really the right time."

They sat in silence for a while before he spoke.

"Have you?" he said, "done this before?"

Once again he found himself wishing he hadn't asked. She stroked his face with the back of her fingers.

"Yes," she said, "I'm sorry."

He knew he should have said something like 'No, don't be sorry,' or 'I never expected you to wait for me.' But instead he was overcome with jealousy, he couldn't bear the thought of someone else touching her, someone else kissing her, and once those thoughts were there they just wouldn't go away.

"I need some air," he said and he unzipped the tent and walked outside.

He regretted it immediately, not only because it was bitterly cold outside the tent away from Misty, but the cold air made him realise how stupid he had been. It was none of his business what Misty did in those years when he had deserted her. If he didn't want something like this to happen he should never have let her go. And now there she was, sitting in that tent, so close to him and he had pushed her away.

He went back inside. Misty had wrapped herself in both sleeping bags. She looked freezing and he cursed himself for opening the tent and letting the cold in.

"I'm sorry," he said.

She wrapped him in the sleeping bags. They fell asleep in each other's arms.

When Ash woke in the morning he was warm and comfortable, Misty was still right by his side and this time he didn't jump up and leave her, he stayed.

_Tonight_, he thought, _tonight will be better._

He looked at Misty's sleeping face; she had the slightest hint of a smile on her lips.

He didn't think about it he just leant down and kissed her. She didn't stir but her smile became more defined. She opened her eyes.

"Taking advantage of me in my sleep Mr Ketchum?"

"Never!" he said

She smiled, "I guess we better head back today," she said.

"No!" he said wrapping his arms around her, "never go back!"

She laughed, "come on," she said, "breakfast time, then we have to pack up the tent and start walking."

"Ok," he said begrudgingly.

After they had eaten toast and butter for breakfast and pulled down the tent they headed for home.

As they were walking Misty casually took Ash's hand in her own.

After a while he asked "Was it the guy in the photograph?"

"What?"

"I was looking at your books and I found a photo frame tucked in behind them, the picture was of you and a guy. Was that him?"

"Umm, yeah it was, but look Ash we don't have to talk about this."

"Who was he?"

"He was a guy from town, his name was Jackson, he was a couple of years older than me."

Older and taller, great.

"So what happened?"

"I broke up with him."

"Why?"

"Because he was a dick head."

"Oh."

"Listen Ash, Jackson is not important; he doesn't mean anything to me anymore so can we just drop it?"

"Ok."

They walked on in silence, their fingers intertwined. When they reached the campsite it was late afternoon.

Misty let go of Ash's hand and sat down.

"We've got a few hours before we need to worry about dinner," she said, "why don't we swim across to the other side of the river, there's a farm there, we might be able to buy some more food."

"How can we get across without all our clothes getting soaked?"

"We can bundle them up and hold them over our heads, it will be easy."

So Misty made a bundle of her dungarees and t-shirt and Ash made one for his shorts and t-shirt and they waded out to the middle of the river, in their underwear, before the water came up to Ash's face.

"Here give me your clothes, you can swim," said Misty as she watched him flounder.

"I'm fine," he said, but talking made him swallow a mouthful of water and he coughed and spluttered for a while during which Misty took the opportunity to snatch his clothes and cross the rest of the river.

Ash cursed a lot under his breath and reluctantly paddled after her.

When they reached the other side they ran around a bit to try and dry off but it didn't work so Ash resorted to just putting his shorts back on and Misty her dungarees for the visit to the farm.

The farmer was more than happy to give them some milk and eggs for their breakfast in exchange for picking as many strawberries as they could in an hour during which they could eat as many as they wanted.

When they were finished they headed back to the river and Misty carried everything back except the bottle of milk which Ash was allowed to take since it didn't matter if it got wet.

When they got back to the campsite they set up the tent, which they were now expert at, Ash lit a fire and Misty took out the last of the sausages and buttered them some bread.

After dinner they washed everything in the river and, shrouded in their sleeping bags they huddled by the fire.

"Want a marshmallow?" Misty asked.

"What? You brought marshmallows?"

"Yeah, I wanted to save them for our last night."

"You are amazing" he said as she pulled the marshmallows out from the very bottom of her backpack.

They toasted them over the fire. When they got to the end of the bag there was only one marshmallow left.

"You have it," said Ash.

"No, we'll share it," she said, impaling it on her stick.

When it was toasted she slid it off with her fingers and held it up between their faces. They both bit into it at the same time and just like that they were kissing again.

This time they didn't waste any time zipping themselves into the tent and Ash seemed to have lost all of his nerves, everything just felt right.

Afterwards she leaned her head against his chest and he could smell her hair again. He fell asleep thinking about how perfect his life was now that Misty was back in it.


	6. First Love

When Ash woke in the morning Misty was there beside him; she had her hand resting on his bare chest and she was still asleep.

He was blissfully happy until he realised that it was Monday. Their last night in the tent was over. Somehow staying in this freezing cold tent that never quite stood upright had felt more like home than anywhere he had been in years. But tomorrow Misty would have to go back to work and he would have to walk home again. He wrapped his arms around her. He couldn't leave her, she needed him. Didn't she?

Misty stirred and he looked into her perfect face as her eyes opened.

"Good morning," she said, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Good morning."

"Eggs for breakfast?"

"Sounds perfect."

"Swim first?"

"Deal."

So they jumped into the river together and spent a good twenty minutes tackling and splashing each other before they were too starving to hold off breakfast any longer.

After scrambled eggs and toast they packed up camp and headed for home. They walked slower than they had the past few days, neither wanting to reach their destination. They both kept making excuses to stop, like tying their shoelaces and pretending to lose things. But they still saw the house at the top of the hill before evening. When they reached the backyard Misty stopped.

"What is it?" Ash asked.

"Why don't we camp just one more night?"

"What?"

"Just set the tent up here in the backyard. We can have the rest of the bread and milk for dinner."

"You don't have to ask me twice," Ash said dropping his bag on the ground.

The tent was up in minutes and the fire burning. When dinner was finished and they were huddled in their sleeping bags around the fire Ash asked the question.

"Hey Misty?"

"Yeah?"

"You know how you said you were trying to save up to move out?"

"Yeah?"

"Well I've been thinking, if I took the money I've saved and combined it with the money you've saved do you think we could afford to…"

"Afford to what?"

"Well, I dunno, like, move out together?"

"Where would we live?"

"Well, I was thinking since we would still have to be near your gym maybe we could rent one of those houses on the river?"

She didn't reply she just pounced on him.

"I'll, umm, I'll take that as a yes then," he said once they were snuggled together under their sleeping bags.

"Yes."

"Really? I mean, do you think we can do it?"

"Of course we can," she said.

"So, I'll just have to go back home and get my stuff and organise some things and then I'll come back and we can…"

"You want to know a secret?" asked Misty.

"Yes."

"You were the first boy I ever loved."

Ash beamed but he didn't say anything. He had found that he was still prone to saying the wrong thing so he decided not to ruin the moment, instead he just kissed the top of her head and they fell asleep.

In the morning Misty was up at dawn and back in the house getting ready for work. Ash woke up to a cold and empty tent. When he got inside Misty had already eaten breakfast and she was dressed for work.

"You don't need to leave today do you?" she said.

"Well I have a lot of things to organise back home before we can, you know, move out together," he smiled again, that sounded so amazing he couldn't believe it.

"Right, well I have to go to work, but can you wait until Lunch before you go and I'll come and say goodbye properly?"

"Ok."

"Thank you so much," she said, kissing him on the cheek as she rushed out the door.

He spent the morning packing up the tent and throwing his few belongings into his backpack. Then he searched the house for Pikachu who had grumpily stayed behind all weekend. He found him hiding under the stairs.

"So guess what?" said Ash, "We're going to move in with Misty."

Pikachu was almost as happy as Ash was.

Lunch time came and went and Ash was still sitting on the porch. He knew he should have left hours ago in order to get to somewhere he could sleep. Now he would have to sleep in a ditch somewhere. Misty wasn't coming to say goodbye. She must have decided work was more important than him so he stood up and dragged his feet down the driveway.

He had almost reached the town before Misty came chasing after him.

"Ash!?" she gasped.

He turned around; she had obviously run the whole way there as her face was flushed. It also looked like she had been crying again.

"I'm so sorry, we had an emergency at the gym and I couldn't get away."

She ran to him and threw her arms around him. He hugged her back, secretly glad that she had come after him. It once again showed that he was completely wrong in his assumptions.

"I thought I wouldn't catch you in time to say goodbye," she said, wiping the tears from her face.

"I'll be back before you know it," he said, stroking her hair, "I just have to get home and get all my stuff, then I will try and hitch a ride back this way so it won't take me as long to get here this time."

"I'll miss you so much," she said.

"I'll miss you too Misty," he said, surreptitiously wiping a tear from the corner of his eye.

He let go of her, "the sooner I leave the sooner I will get back."

"Ok," she said letting him go, "hurry home."

_Home_, he thought, _finally._

He kissed her one last time then turned around and walked away from her.

"Ash?" she called after him.

"Yeah?" he called back.

"Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Do you love me?"

"Yes," said Ash.


End file.
